History In 2005, Junior Achievement of New Mexico was one of four U.S. JA offices to receive a grant from the Goizueta Foundation to underwrite the costs of launching the JA Hispanic Initiative beginning in the 2006/07 school year. With Hispanic students accounting for more than 50 percent of our local schools’ dropout rate, there’s clearly an urgent need to improve the understanding among these students about the connection between their education and future success. With this vital idea in mind, JA’s Hispanic Initiative was launched.

The Difference What sets Hispanic initiative programs apart from regular JA programs?

• We specifically seek Title 1 schools and schools with more than 51 percent Latino student population.
• Our curriculum can be taught in both English and Spanish.
  
• Latino volunteers teach and serve as role models in the classroom. Our hope is that with the Latino volunteers we will reach more than 5,000 Hispanic students this year, inspiring them to stay in school.
• Parents are sent bilingual postcards after each classroom lesson to promote parent involvement.

Our Goals

• Increase Hispanic high school graduation rates.
• Ignite Hispanic student motivation and pursuit of high education.
• Inspire a workforce that is better prepared for local industry demands.
• Develop a generation of Hispanic students who are financially literate.

 Vision

To build on Junior Achievement of New Mexico’s business and economics curricula while providing culturally-relevant lessons to improve the quality of life for American Indian/Native American students and their communities.
Goals

• To expand JA economic education programs K-12 into AI/NA communities across New Mexico, beginning with 10 tribal communities in 2007.
• To make JA curricula relevant to AI/NA students and their communities through sequential age-appropriate lessons at each grade level.
• To assure that AI/NA students stay in school, build important life-skills, and prepare for valued careers in the business world.

  Long-range Impacts

• Increased American/Indian Native American (AI/NA) graduation rates at secondary and post-secondary education levels.

• Increased tendency of AI/NA students toward business and professional careers.

• Decreased level of poverty among AI/NA families over time.
• Increased and recognized participation by AI/NA businesses, supporting tribal interests and healthy community development.

 

Immediate Student Outcomes

•          Students will learn about 7 critical content areas:  financial literacy, workforce readiness, business, economics, citizenship, entrepreneurship and ethics.
•          Students will understand the importance of education to their future success.
•          Students will build skills in teamwork, decision-making and interpersonal effectiveness.
•          Students will become aware of post-secondary education and career opportunities.
•          Students will learn about what it takes to be successful beyond the classroom from American Indian/Native American role models.
•          Students will learn how to connect what they learn from JA programming to their families and communities